This invention relates to a system which directly reads out material data such as image data from a random access type memory device storing the image data in a succession quite unrelated a series of broadcasting sequences, and uses the image data for broadcasting. More particularly, this invention relates to a method which makes it possible to visually confirm whether or not a broadcasting sequence is appropriate or whether or not image signals, etc, are appropriately stored in the memory device described above, by using still image information of program materials, and to a system for executing such a method.
Program broadcasting equipment which stores image signals, etc, for each program material by using a random-accessible memory device such as a video disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like, reproduces the image data such as image signals from the memory device in a well-timed manner for an edited sequence of a program, and records the image data such as image signals in another memory medium such as a video tape called an "unified tape", has been employed in recent years. Here, the term "unified tape" means a video tape recording thereon each program material with editorial order in accordance with the broadcasting sequence. To confirm the edited content of the program in such a moving picture editing equipment at the time of the edition work, a method is known which extracts a representative frame image of each cut from image signals of dynamic images stored in each cut unit, and displays a list of the extracted representative frame images. An editor corrects information of a reproduction sequence of each cut while watching the list displayed on the moving picture editing apparatus. For Example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. JP-A-4-117686 discloses an invention entitled "Moving Picture Editing Apparatus".
When recorded programs are broadcasted, the broadcasting sequence of the programs generally are extremely important and if any error occurs in the sequence of the programs so broadcasted, the influences of such an error on the broadcasting station are unfathomable. According to the prior art method, therefore, a unified tape is generated above all. This unified tape is generally previewed before broadcasting of the programs so as to confirm whether or not the sequence of the recorded programs is correct and whether or not any quality problem exists in the images of the reproduced programs. Thereafter, the image signals, etc, reproduced from the unified tape so confirmed is broadcasted at the time of program broadcasting.
In the method of broadcasting the programs according to the prior art described above, the still images are arranged and displayed on the basis of reproduction sequence information which is edited, at the time of the edition work of editing the programs before the unified tape is produced, and the editor can easily confirm or preview the edition result and quality of the image signals stored in the random access type memory device. However, in order to re-confirm the sequence of the programs edited into the unified tape and the contents of the programs after the reproduction sequence information is edited and the unified tape is produced but before the start of broadcasting of the programs, or to confirm image quality of the programs reproduced from the unified tape, the confirmation items described above must be checked for each reproduced image with eye watching while the unified tape is being reproduced, and an extremely long time is necessary.
Furthermore, the unified tape cannot be produced unless all the necessary program materials are stored into the memory device.